I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to wireless communications. More particularly, the present invention relates to the field of facsimile communications in a wireless environment.
II. Description of the Related Art
Facsimile equipment operating over the public switched telephone network (PSTN) can employ a voice request feature. If the facsimile user wishes to initiate a conversation with the other party after the facsimile is completed, the user can use a switch or other interface means to request the facsimile equipment to switch to voice mode at the completion of the facsimile transfer. The signaling that occurs over the PSTN segment for such a voice request is defined in CCITT recommendations T.4 and T.30 and are known in the art.
The voice request feature would be especially beneficial to mobile radiotelephone users who are charged for air time and/or on a per call basis. The voice request capability would allow the user to transmit a facsimile image and then immediately converse with the other party without generating a new call or interrupting the facsimile transmission. Digital facsimile equipment and computers that connect to radiotelephones operating in a digital cellular system, however, do not have the capability to generate the required signaling to perform this feature. There is a resulting need for a voice request feature for mobile radiotelephone systems.